Building a Business Case: How to Turn Lemons Into Lemonade Your Way – Pam Cradic

Pam Cradic shared a fast-paced, fantastic presentation on how to be BOLD! when things don’t go according to plan, and how to turn adversity into opportunity. (What assistant doesn’t need to have that in their toolbox?).

When things don’t work, you can redesign a system, and lead the way to a new way of doing business in your organization.

Pam relayed that she was an Army wife. It’s important to learn their language which is often acronyms.
BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front

Problem statement: is 1 sentence. It clearly states the problem but presents no solution. From this, you figure out you don’t know what you don’t know. Then, you research what other companies are doing about this issue.

Check scholarly sources for current business trends, and check with your network.

Next, you organize your findings. Have at least 10 sources and mix them up (Internet, scholarly, etc.) Pull from that list at least five options. Keep your options open.

Get all the right people involved. Build relationships and find someone in your organization; ask others who you should ask, in order to find the right people. Use your concise problem statement and list of options as the summary. Use your soft skills. Avoid the “Queen Bee” attitude.

Time to shine! Provide clear-cut options to the decision makers. You should plan on having three options. The order in which you present them to the decision makers is critical:

• Do nothing. Give the picture to decision makers of what happens if nothing happens.
• Option #2 (is okay but not preferred).
• Option #3 Preferred, the solution you think is best.

Demonstrate your solution based upon an understanding of the return for your company.

What happens if the answer is NO. So what? You still got value from it:

1. The value proposition: your problem gets solved because you solved it. Your credibility rises.
2. You demonstrated competency development and knowledge sharing in your business.
3. Just don’t do the task and get on with it.

Making lemonade from lemons takes courage, strength, positive actions, seeing it from the decision maker’s perspective (and the company’s bottom line!) and some good old be {BOLD!} character, too.

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About Nancy Fraze

Nancy Fraze brings her skill as a journalist, coupled with her talent for creative communications, to Office Dynamics International’s web and print materials. As an active administrative professional with a CEAP (Certified Executive Administrative Professional) designation earned through the Star Achievement Series®, Nancy blends her passion for writing and copy editing with hands-on experience in the administrative function.

Nancy is a guest contributor at Office Dynamics’ blog and served as a reporter in the field at the “Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence.” An avid writer, she is Poet Laureate for the Town of Danville, California and writes a personal blog, “Best Films, Best Friends and a Whole Lot of Popcorn.” She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications – Journalism and an Associate of Arts degree in Psychology. Nancy is also co-author with Joan Burge & Jasmine Freeman on Who Took My Pen … Again?

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